macworld

Griffin Technology showed off the Navigate at a CES press event yesterday, though it was announced officially at Macworld several hours before. The Navigate may seem like just an ordinary iPod remote, and indeed it can be used that way. A nice bonus is that you can also use it with the iPhone, which could be a good thing if you're not crazy about the iPhone's touch-screen controls (also pretty useful when you're driving and need to not look at the screen). But the Navigate also has a built-in FM radio as well as four station presets … Read more

Greetings from sunny Las Vegas! It's sunny, but not hot at all, which is awesome. Today's CES show was a nice dry run, but tomorrow is when the real fun starts. So make sure to stop by the CNET stage at 5 p.m. pacific time to catch us live! Did we mention there will be giveaways?

On today's show Ariel Nunez joins us to talk about why Macworld was absolutely terrible and why you'll need an HDTV to listen to Ludacris' new record. Then we'll discuss Ludacris' comments about our own Natali Del Conte. … Read more

Probably the most popular pro-level database maker for the Mac, FileMaker Pro has just released a major update to coincide with Macworld 2009. Offering a sleek new interface that's as nice to look at as it is intuitive, FileMaker Pro's new Status Toolbar puts commonly used features right where you need them. Even if you're not happy with the default layout of the new toolbar, you can easily customize the available icons to improve the work flow for specific projects.

The new browse feature gives you a centralized location for navigating to different parts of your database … Read more

Macworld Expo will go on in 2010 without Apple's participation, but what will it look like? And will anybody show up?

We might get an idea Wednesday evening, when IDG World Expo plans to hold a town-hall style meeting open to Macworld attendees to solicit ideas for the future of the show. Apple stunned IDG in December with its decision to pull out of the show completely. It also pulled CEO Steve Jobs from his usual starring role and had Phil Schiller deliver what was widely considered one of Apple's most lackluster Macworld keynote speeches in years.

A … Read more

We're coming to you from CES 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada and it's all about Netbooks today. I'm sure we'll get more buzz about 3D TVs and more later this week. Also, Ellie doesn't like it when we call out the title of the show, but that makes it easier for Jason to find them for his special edition! (And please excuse a bit of distortion in today's episode. Sorry! -Jason) Listen now: Download today's podcast

Yawn— MacWorld (woohoo iTunes DRM free!!) http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10133230-37.html http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090106-apple-mwsf-announcements-new-macbook-pro.html… Read more

After all the hoopla surrounding Steve Jobs' absence from Apple's last Macworld keynote subsided, it was finally time for us all to tune into Phil Schiller's remarks about the future of his company.

Speculation abounded over what Schiller would announce. A new Mac Mini? An updated Apple TV? We didn't know, but many of us were sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to find out.

Sure, it's nice to see that iTunes has finally gone DRM-free, even though Amazon.com did so last year, and the updated 17-inch MacBook Pro looks nice, even though the battery isn't removable--a major blunder, since the advertised 8 hours of battery life will probably never happen, and serial travelers require the use of multiple batteries.

But what else came out of Tuesday's announcement? An update to iLife is nice, and iMovie's new features make it a more capable video-editing alternative, but beyond that, Schiller's keynote speech was rife with details and demos that bored those who were looking for major updates.

Realizing that, is it time for Apple to finally put an end to its strategy of holding major events to unveil product updates?… Read more

Griffin Technology released the SmartTalk Bluetooth headset yesterday in conjunction with Macworld Expo 2009, marking the first ever Bluetooth headset from the company known for its iPod and iPhone accessories. The SmartTalk Bluetooth headset has a dual microphone design that promises great noise cancellation, with the ability to tell the difference between your voice and background noise. It also offers human voice confirmations during setup and use (In English and French). It's available now for $99.99, or you can buy it a bundle for $119.99 with PowerJolt, so you can charge either the headset or your iPhone … Read more

I spied Scott Cook, a founder and former CEO of Intuit, which makes Quicken and Quickbooks, at his company's Macworld booth, giving demos just like any booth worker.

That's curious--you don't see big company billionaires mingling with consumers in a frenzied trade show environment too often (although you should). So I snared him for a quick interview about his booth duty and the plans for Intuit overall.

Regarding hanging out with The People, Cook simply said that it's a great way to get customers to talk to him for free (versus paid surveys, I assume) and … Read more

Another boring Apple press event is in the can. Can we please get rid of those, Apple?

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